What did you do in 2012 that you had never done before? Will you do it again?

This is a writing prompt from http://www.weverb12.com/prompts/ which has a series of suggestions on how you can reflect on the year. Jon and I will be doing a few of them.

What did you do in 2012 that you had never done before? Will you do it again?
Well this year we started this blog! I had previously never blogged before. I wanted to blog because I thought it would be fun and I thought it would keep me accountable for the goals I made for myself.
We are continuing with the blog next year. As this blog is about finishing unresolved business, a lot of the goals are stuff that I had never done before.

We are going to divide this reflection in parts as there is a lot to go through. We won't go through everything, just stuff that had the most effect on us.

Book Reviews:

Carlyn:
I never had a book list before. I wanted to read more books and be introduced to books that I would not normally consider. Jon and I created a list of 23 books that had not read and wanted to read. We chose a selection of books based on bestseller lists as well as include books that interest us.

I have enjoyed working through the book list. I liked writing the reviews too. I have not read many books on the list but I'm still working on it. Jon and I decided that we won't update the list until we have finished all the books. If we added more books to the list it would be overwhelming.

I also have a seperate booklist from the one that I share with Jon. This year I tried to finish reading all the books that I have bought but have never read. I got through a good portion of them. My goal for next year is not to buy any more books until I have finished both booklists. I don't know how long my resolve will be because I really like collecting books.

Favourite book

My favourite book from the booklist would have to be The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas. Jon and I both owned the book so we were able to read it at the same time and write a review together. I thought The Count of Monte Cristo was very entertaining for a classic book as it contained, suspense, adventure, murder and revenge.

Least favourite

I found it very hard to get through Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Piccoult. It's very good book but it's a sad one. I normally don't read sad books. I had chosen the book for the booklist as an acquaintance had raved about it.

Jon:

The blog that Carlyn and I shared was entirely new to me as well. I too will be carrying on with our blog in 2013. I had never joined movements on the web or dabbled at all in social media sites, outside of sports or entertainment prior to this past year.  The cyber universe has a number of opportunities that allow people to connect with others and sometimes all the different options and possibilities can be a little imposing to me.  I still do not have a facebook page or a twitter account even though those are things that Carlyn and I have discussed (the twitter) or my family and I have discussed (the facebook). They are things that I might make an effort to get involved with in 2013, and let go of some of the stigmas and prejudices I may have formed in the process of not becoming involved with them. A number of people tell me how much they LOVE social media so some of my fears more involve the addictive nature that many have spoken to me about. I already spend too much time on line sometimes and there are certain fears that I have about spending entire days off shut up in my room discussing things in social media.

 

Favourite book

In reflecting on the book reviews we did this past year I would say that my most favorite review was the Count of Monte Cristo.   The book was very entertaining, with fast paced action, even though it was fairly straight forward without the twists and turns of some of the other books I read this year.  One of the things I truley enjoyed most about the review was the ability to discuss it with Carlyn.  I always enjoyed school in both high school and college and one of my favorite things to do was to discuss the books we read in and out of class.   I feel like I learn so much more about a book when I talk about the book with someone else who has read it.  Even if I don't agree with an opinion or viewpoint that someone else presents, at least it makes me think about the book in a different way.

Least favourite book

My least favorite book that I reviewed would be Ellen Degeneres' Serioulsy, I'm Kidding.  Sometimes with celebrities, I feel like their publicists come to them and tell them.... "YOU HAVE TO WRITE A BOOK!"  The celebrities are not totally into the idea but they do it to please their publicistes.  I don't want to suggest that Ellen's reason for writing another book was a money grab.  I don't doubt it was her publicist's reason though.  Celebrities will often follow suit and write the suggested book without a deeply vested desire to produce something great.  I got this sense from both comedian's, Ellen and Lewis Black, books that I read this past year.  Ellen's book reminded me soooo much of her adorable character, Dory, in Finding Nemo.  While that was cute for a movie, it seemed to me like she had little attention span for what ever it was she was talking about and jumped rather randomly from one subject to the next.  Not only that, but the manner in which she wrote at times inferred that she was addressing only a female audience.  It's almost like she anticipated having NO male audience interested in her book.  There were definitely funny moments, and I realize that this is not a professional novalist or biographer writing here, but there are reasons someone is a professional entertainer and comedian: It's because they are GOOD at it.  I guess I feel that maybe Ellen and Lewis should just stick with what they are good at and passionate about, if they are not going to be totally invested in writing a good book.